


Still W4tching

by Leorajh



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Almost Sex, Dubious Science, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Medicinal Drug Use, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Science Fiction, Transformation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2018-12-01 02:03:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11476296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leorajh/pseuds/Leorajh
Summary: Dusan Nemec is behind bars and dozens of companies and organizations loyal to Blume have been exposed by Dedsec. But somebody has one last trick up their sleeve to use on the hackers, and they've already fallen into the trap.





	1. Chapter 1

"Wrench, what kind of pizza did you get? This thing's got so much stuff on it..." Marcus pulled a slice from the pizza box, only to grab a slice of crust and runny sauce with the cheese and toppings still lying inside. "You can't even pick it up without everything falling off."

"Funny you say that, M. As a matter of fact, it is an 'everything' pizza. I got all the toppings!" Wrench responded with glee and amusement, mask pulled away from his mouth and trying to eat his own slice. Keeping it together was a challenge, but the blonde hacker wasn't bothered by the mess at all.

"You sure did." Marcus lamented, but not for long. He'd let Wrench order what he wanted without question. Wrench had also ordered breadsticks and hot wings, and he couldn't argue with those decisions. After assembling a plate, Marcus sat down beside Wrench on his couch and opened up his internet browser on his laptop. At the same time, Wrench channel surfed through Marcus' three-hundred-plus digital cable offerings.

Marcus caught a glimpse of a woman's face on the local news just long enough that he needed another look at it. He placed his hand on Wrench's shoulder. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up a sec. Go back."

"What is it?" Wrench asked, going backwards at a slightly slower pace until Marcus pointed at the channel he wanted to watch. "Just the news, Sitara will let us know if anything serious is happening. She's always got her nose in the news feeds."

"No, that ain't it." Marcus watched the story. The woman he recognized was the feature of the story. In a red banner running across the bottom of the screen, 'warning: viewer discretion advised' scrolled. Above it, the WKZ news logo accompanied by the headline 'Mysterious Bruises Discovered on Local Police Officer'. The warning wasn't a joke; huge bloody welts dotted her shoulders in the photos flashing on the screen, cropped to censor the rest of her. While they only showed a partial profile, Marcus was certain they'd crossed paths. "Damn, I think I lost my appetite."

"More pizza for me!" Wrench wasn't bothered, and he didn't care about the story either. "I didn't think you to be the graphically sensitive type, M."

"Movies are different from real life, man." He explained, settling against the back of the couch after setting aside his food.

"I suppose that's true. Monsters shouldn't explode in fountains of blood but it's so fucking satisfying."

"Wonder how she got them. If it was the usual suspects, they could tell, right?" Marcus watched the entire clip, but he couldn't put his finger on where he'd seen the officer before. "Shit, maybe I saw her passing in a cop car on the street or something."

"Or when the police went after you in full force after our first Invite infiltration. She probably looked a lot scarier with a frowny face and a gun."

Marcus laughed. "I guess you're right. Let's find something better to watch."

"I think I passed up a Predator movie. I hope it's a good one."

"I'm game for that."

"Sit back and enjoy the show, my friend." Wrench found the film after a little searching as Marcus uncapped a bottle of craft beer for each of them. Settling back against the comfy and well-loved couch, they toasted their drinks and took their first sips.

Wrench hadn't remembered the last time he'd done something like this. After Marcus' initiation into Dedsec, things picked up. Things changed. Chaos and failure gave rise to victories over companies and establishments he'd never dreamed they'd fight. It was satisfying, but also a lot of work. And now, here they were, new best friends chilling out and letting life pass by slowly.

He was enjoying it a little too much. They'd had a paintball war in the park earlier that day after lunch, which turned into a race for their life when they accidentally hit the side of a police cruiser with splatters of yellow and green paint. After that they'd stopped by the hackerspace and helped Sitara print out a large poster that she'd planned to post at a high traffic space at Blume's stadium. They relived a bit of childhood and got rocket pops from a stopped ice cream truck, and they performed some heroics for a woman getting harassed by a big and burly bearded biker who didn't know the meaning of the word 'no'. Now they were watching movies together in their paint-stained clothes eating junk food.

"We should do this more often." Wrench suggested.

"Who says it's over?" Marcus questioned as the credits scrolled down the screen.

"Well, hipsters need their beauty sleep, right?"

"Dude, spend the night."

Wrench's mask displayed two shocked 'O's of different sizes. "Spend the night?"

"Yeah. Sleepover, dude."

"Are we gonna paint each other's toenails, curl our hair, and talk about our crushes?"

Marcus laughed heartily. "If that's your thing. Or we could watch another movie. I have a whole collection on my shelf now."

"I'm too lazy to get up. Let's stream one."

"I don't have an account though."

"Gail Davidson at Nudle does." Wrench's mask 'winked' as he logged into the streaming service and brought up all the action movies. They'd decided on Con Air, and as they lounged, Marcus couldn't help but recall the woman on the news. Why did she stand out so much? It distracted him so much that he jumped when he realized Wrench was waving his hand in front of him. "Getting sleepy, Marky Mark?" Wrench teased, patting the other hacker's shoulder.

"Shit, the movie's over already?"

"Yup!" Wrench paused briefly, yawning behind his mask, but loud enough for Marcus to hear.

"Let me get you a pillow and some blankets." Marcus offered, slowly sitting up straight then pushing himself off the couch.

"I get the comfy couch!" Wrench declared.

"All yours, my man." Marcus smiled. "Be right back."

Wrench disappeared into the bathroom to undress while Marcus gathered things for him. When he returned to the couch, Wrench was sprawled out across it in boxers and a well loved white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Marcus' face felt warm for a few moments, successfully distracting him before tossing the first blanket over Wrench. The engineer laughed.

"I'll make us some French toast in the morning...if the eggs aren't bad." Marcus offered. "Oooor I'll have to buy us breakfast if they are."

"I'm game." Wrench hoped the eggs were still good. Marcus probably cooked it better than he could, considering he hadn't had actual French toast in years, and French toast-flavored toaster waffles didn't count. "I'm shutting down and entering sleep mode."

"Haha. Night Wrench. Wake me up if you need something." Marcus locked up the apartment and disappeared into his bedroom, leaving Wrench to rest in the darkened living room. The TV was left on the local news, and Wrench closed his eyes to the repeating story of the police officer. 

"Sucks to be her." He muttered softly, letting sleep take hold.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An itch to scratch.

"This is hella dope!" Marcus cheered, sitting beside Wrench inside the Nudle smart car, speeding down the street driverless. As per Dedsec tradition, the once pristine white body of the vehicle was covered in Sitara's signature style, sporting shades of purple, green and blue with heavy black line art and white highlights featuring pop horror art. The vehicle still looked slick and smooth after the makeover, and Marcus nodded smugly as he watched people on the sidewalk turn their heads.

"This is how a smart car should fucking run. No lifescores, no biometric shit to work against us..."

"You said it. We just sit back and relax."

"Well, that's gonna get boring in no time." Wrench glanced over his shoulder at the empty backseat.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Marcus winked, lowering the back of his seat flat.

"How much I love indecent exposure and public sex?" Wrench's visor displayed two exclamation marks that flickered and curled into question marks.

"Uhh, sorta along those lines, yeah. But nobody can see into this car very well."

"That's okay. We can do that some other time." Wrench grinned behind his mask, displaying two carats for Marcus. Wrench slipped into the back seat, and Marcus followed after, pinning him against the cushy seats like a predator atop his prey. Marcus reached under Wrench's hood and fingered at the buckles, letting them loose as Wrench felt eager. "Marcus..."

"Gonna make you feel so good. But I wanna see your real face when I do it. You're okay with that, right?"

"Of course Marcus, take it off me. Only you get to see my face. Nobody else."

As Marcus unmasked him in his dreams, the blast of cool air from the air conditioner in the car was, in actuality, a breeze from an open window blowing over his uncovered face. A sensation of goosebumps were abuzz all over his back, and with unusual intensity. Wrench sat up and gasped, eyes adjusting to the harsh light of the television screen playing a local poker tournament. Wrench frowned and reached over his shoulder to rub at his skin as his consciousness returned. Instead of having a dream date with Marcus and being much further along in their blooming relationship, he was staring at a poker champ wearing a ten gallon hat and chewing on the end of a cigar. He maintained a blank stare at the overhead shots of card hands on the screen, still rubbing and rubbing...trying to, at least. His arms weren't long enough to reach the itch he wanted to scratch.

He curled up tighter on the couch in hopes of improving his reach, but it was no use, and the ticklish feeling still bubbled under his skin. His nerves were relentless and showing no immediate signs of fading away and giving him peace. He needed a tool to help him out.

Whatever tool that was, it was going to take some trial and error. Something in him inspired the hacker to grab the heavy TV remote, so he picked it up off the floor...and reached for his back with it. Rubbing the smooth plastic and lumpy buttons over his upper back wasn't providing the friction his skin desired, but it did change the channel a few times and drop the volume to a mute. Becoming a bit more conscious, he realized that he didn't want Marcus to know of his harebrained impulse move, so he stopped and dropped it on the couch beside him. He crossed an arm over his shoulder to rub at the other side, standing up and carefully padding around the living room...looking for another harebrained impulse move to make.

"Fuck." Wrench swore softly, looking for sharper objects with reach. His next stroke of late night brilliance was turning his leather vest inside out and putting it on after retrieving it from the bathroom. He leaned against the wall and bent at the knees repeatedly, trying to push the series of barbs across his back. After that proved useless, he let gravity help, and laid down on the floor upon his back. Feet pushing against the carpet, Wrench inched across the floor. Sadly, the studs were not sharp enough where they needed to be, and the vest was making him even itchier.

Ditching his spiky clothing and his t-shirt, he decided to venture into the kitchen, where he pulled out all the waist-tall drawers until he found Marcus' silverware. There were four of each utensil, and a collection of wrapped plastic 'sporks' from previous takeout orders. "Sorry spork, there is one thing you are not the best choice for." Wrench murmured, grabbing a metal fork and closing the drawer. Uncertain of the benefits of his plan, he reached for his back armed with the fork, and ran the sharp prongs over his skin. It proved rather effective in terms of reach and pressure, but one wrong scrape over his flesh caused him to draw a little blood, and he immediately ditched the idea, the pain equal to that of a paper cut; small wound, excruciating sting. He threw the fork in the sink, only realizing after it slid across the metal bowl that he shouldn't have done that. The hacker tensed up and his gaze shot towards Marcus' bedroom door as the fork stopped moving and hit the metal drain cover.

A few minutes passed as he stood as still as a statue, and not a peep was heard from Marcus. But without the fear of waking up his friend to distract him, the tingly skin on his back commanded his attention once more. Marcus' apartment was pretty barren, and he was running out of options. He glanced at the front door, and the fake gold-plated door knob caught a glint of light. Desperate to try anything, Wrench turned around and carefully aligned his back with the door knob, bent at the knees. He started to rub back and forth, but the knob wasn't tight in the door, and rattled noticeably. Every solution the hacker could come up with half-awake was either painful, too noisy, or both.

"Goddamn it, fuck...fucking shit...fucking...fuck..." Wrench was starting to go a bit nuts. Nothing could relieve this sudden itch. He looked at Marcus' door again. He really didn't want to fuck up this 'sleepover' by waking him up in the middle of the night. An itchy back was not going to kill the chance of more bro time with Marcus. "...A-ah! Shit...fuck..."

The home security hacker's face scrunched up in displeasure as his body twitched back to life, thanks to the engineer's cursing right outside his door. "Wrench?" Marcus picked up his phone, then set it back on his nightstand. "It's four in the morning..."

"M-Marcus! You are not awake! You are having the worst and most boring dream of your life! Go back to bed and wake up in reality..." Wrench sputtered, but eventually stood face-to-face with his buddy after the door opened.

"...Are you okay?" Marcus canted his head to the side, questioning Wrench's strange stance. He hadn't interacted with maskless Wrench all that much, and especially not a panicky, maskless Wrench.

"Yeah, I...do you...have a back scratcher?" Wrench asked timidly.

"A back scratcher?" Marcus rubbed his eyes with the back of his arm. Wrench was fidgeting before him, still trying to claw at the itch on his own. "No...turn around a second."

"What?" Wrench blinked.

"Turn around." Marcus guided Wrench by putting his hands at his sides, and Wrench was faced away from Marcus as he stood up. Calm immediately washed over the blonde as Marcus' fingernails began to rake over his skin, but embarrassment crept up on him instead. It was the right touch he was seeking, though. Marcus' nails were just the right sharpness. "How's that?"

"Better..."

"Told you to wake me up if you needed something, don't feel bad about it, okay?" Marcus reminded him, still sensing worry from the other.

As Marcus ceased to scratch, the sensations of the itch increased again, and Wrench wriggled in place as he tried to relieve the buzz.

"Still itchy? Hey, how'd you cut yourself back here?"

"Best not to ask."

Marcus began to scratch again, trying to figure out what to do as he admired the tattoos on Wrench's back. "...I think I got some of that aloe shit. Might help if we slather some of it on you."

"I'll try anything." Wrench nodded.

The two men headed for the bathroom, Marcus itching Wrench along the way. Wrench felt mild despair whenever Marcus had to stop to grab something, but it was never long enough that the itch got worse. They both squinted in the light, and Wrench shivered while Marcus read the back of the bottle of aloe vera gel. The wiry hacker quickly felt the cooling properties of the gel as Marcus applied it generously to his skin. The cold goop seemed to fix everything, and Wrench was able to let his arms relax at his side and focus a bit more.

"I think it's working." Wrench finally found a moment to smile. "You're a fucking lifesaver. You should be a doctor."

"Anytime, Wrench. I don't know why you were so itchy, though." Marcus took a step back and looked over the other's body. "No sunburn, no rash, no nothing. Unless maybe you got one of those tats recently."

"Nope. Fuck, I don't think I could live happily if I couldn't handle fresh ink."

"Then I got nothing, dude. Let's go back to sleep. I'll slime you again in the morning if the itch comes back."

"Blue Slimer. A missed opportunity, though green was a great color too."

Marcus smiled, happy that Wrench was acting more like himself...his quieter, unmasked self. "See you in a few hours." Marcus stretched, heading back to his bedroom. 

Wrench stood in the middle of the living room in front of the couch as Marcus once again disappeared behind his door, sighing as he plucked his mask up off the floor for a moment. Though the itch had faded, he felt terrible asking Marcus to do all that for him. "Heh, first time I crash at his place and this fucking shit happens." He muttered, slowly sprawling out on the couch again with his stomach on the cushions this time around. He crossed his arms and cradled his head on top of the pillow, watching the early morning news play. Once again they were reporting on the police officer with the welts, with a few pointless updates to the story. It was just things he and Marcus had already figured out through common sense: they weren't bruises from blunt force, and no domestic violence had occurred.

"In other news, last night during the Ohlones game, players were surprised to see the team's banner and digital scoreboard replaced with Dedsec propaganda as they stormed onto the court and burst through a poster matching the style of the infamous hacker group. T-shirt cannons were also loaded with Dedsec shirts alongside of Ohlone's memorabilia Mixed feelings were stirred; some people saw it as a harmless prank, while others questioned the group's motives. The city has the hackers to thank for revealing incriminating evidence surrounding Blume and its major clients in the Silicon Valley, but despite the major reveal, it still hasn't been enough to convince everyone that their vision is in the interest of the public."

Wrench's lips curled up slightly and briefly as he set his mask nearby, lidding his eyes on another positive note. As he was half-asleep, he heard Marcus move through the apartment, and laid very still when the hacker set items beside his mask with a post-it note. The pale hacker waited for Marcus to go back to bed before plucking it up off the floor.

'If the itch comes back try some of these' 

The note was signed 'Marcus' with a little smiley face giving a peace sign. Antihistamine capsules and a bottle of water leaned against his mask.

"He is so fucking adorable." Wrench exhaled with amusement. Adorable and caring. Considerate. Kind. Not something he was used to receiving. He kind of liked it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed Wrench's late night chaos! There will be more to come very soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changing tastes.

"He is so fucking adorable." Marcus found himself watching Wrench sleep after he woke in the morning. After the excitement during the night, they ended up sleeping in past normal breakfast hours, and Marcus' eggs had gone bad on top of that. "Maybe we can grab lunch," He thought aloud, hoping Wrench would feel better when he finally woke up. He had no intention of waking him just for that, though. The antihistamines were gone along with most of the water, so he must have had another itching spell, then fallen asleep due to the medicine.

Wanting to be out of the way when his house guest awoke, Marcus decided to get ready for the day. Wrench was on his mind as he stood in the shower and bathed. He wasn't sure what he would and should do if Wrench was still suffering. Dedsec had basic first aid knowledge, and surprisingly, the know-how to pull bullets out of wounds and stitch them up cleanly. As for other medical issues, he was in the dark. Up until recently, he was on the most wanted list in San Francisco thanks to Dusan Nemec, and if he would have needed serious medical treatment, he would have had to kiss Dedsec and his freedom goodbye. Part of him still feared needing to go to a doctor, even though now he probably would have been just fine. From Wrench's banter weeks ago when he'd mentioned 'borrowing' pills from Josh, it was clear Wrench lacked health care too. Telling the guy to just see a doctor probably wouldn't help.

Marcus left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose when he was startled by a wolf whistle from the couch. Wrench grinned mischievously behind his mask, sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and the blanket on top of his lap. "Good morning, sunshine!" Wrench cooed in falsetto and flashed a wink emote.

"Hey! How you feeling, man?" Marcus smiled wide yet shyly.

"Fucking amazing. Those allergy pills did the trick." Wrench replied excitedly, two carats displayed on his visor.

That alone made Marcus' morning. Wrench was okay and back to his usual self. That was all that mattered. "Since we got caught up on sleep, how about lunch instead of breakfast?"

"Sounds like a plan. You gonna invite Josh and Sitara along?"

"If you want."

"Sweet. Hey, here's a crazy thought. Let's get breakfast for lunch at that place that does twenty-four hour breakfast."

"Not as crazy as I was expecting, but I like your thinking. I'll shoot'em a text."

"And I will get naked," Marcus froze as Wrench declared his next action. "Then I will take a shower. And then I will be wet and naked. And then I'll get dressed. Maybe."

Marcus snickered, composing himself. "Alright, but don't take too long."

About an hour and a half later the four hackers had met up and squished into a well-worn booth at the restaurant, looking over the laminated grease-stained menus before their waitress came back to take their order. Sitara was a bit surprised to see Wrench, as he was without his hoodie and vest. Marcus wanted to play it safe and have him wear something more lightweight that wouldn't agitate his back as much as the heavier black hoodie. "Holy shit, I almost didn't recognize you, even with the mask on. So, what's with the sudden introduction of colors? Powder blue looks good on you. And you have hair under that hood too!"

"It's..." Wrench glanced down warily at the Plainstock logo screen-printed across the front along with a white outline of a dove. It was a display of artistic irony, the collar of the tee set against the anarchy tattoo on his neck and accented with the spiked cuff around his wrist. The Plainstock branding was bad enough in the first place, and he wondered what Marcus saw in it.

"I got a size too small, so I gave it to Wrench." Marcus fibbed.

"That can't be it." Sitara laid her arm across the back of the booth behind Wrench.

"Wrench probably forgot to bring clothes when he spent the night." Josh guessed after taking a sip of orange juice.

"Bingo." Wrench pointed at him.

"Yeah. He's just borrowing some of my 'hipster shit'." Marcus imitated Wrench's sass, earning a laugh from everyone at the table.

"You should borrow it more often." Sitara nodded. "How many colors can we get you in? I wonder..."

"Let's focus on food tastes instead of fashion tastes? The server lady's coming." Wrench's mask displayed two hyphens that soon changed into exclamation marks when the waitress returned to their table. Marcus felt immense relief for both himself and Wrench. The itching ended up being a temporary inconvenience, and the whole world didn't need to know about it.

"What'll it be, kids? We got a special on the western omelette."

"Scrambled eggs and wheat toast for me." Sitara chimed in first. Josh and Marcus went for French toast. Marcus assumed Wrench would follow suit after they'd talked about it the night before, but that would not be the case.

Wrench closed his menu and slid it towards the waitress. "I will have a bowl of fresh fruit. Oh, and some of those little candied walnuts on top."

"You got it." The other three hackers flashed Wrench surprised and questioning looks as the server disappeared into the kitchen.

Wrench's mask displayed apostrophes, followed by question marks. "What?"

"Fresh fruit?" Sitara spoke first. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'd have thought you'd go for French toast after last night."

The blonde felt a little outed. "I changed my mind. It sounded good." he fought to find an excuse since everyone seemed confused.

"Wrench, the only 'fruits' you like are jolly ranchers and Neapolitan ice cream...and you make it into soup anyway so that the chocolate overpowers the strawberry." Sitara knew Wrench longer than most. He wasn't the type to care about his eating habits. Healthy or not, it just had to taste good.

"I can like other things." The visor displayed two slashes briefly before turning back into X's.

"Of course you can, it's just...kind of surprising." Marcus explained, rolling a tiny cup of coffee creamer in between his fingers.

"If you say so. Tastes change over time. That's why adults grow to like the foods they hated as kids." Wrench made an attempt to explain himself.

"Ohhh." Sitara cooed in a teasing tone. "Our little Wrench is growing up at long last." She teased, earning a laugh from Marcus.

"I know I'm irresistible to talk about, but I wanna hear more about your mission. I saw everything on the news this morning." Wrench casually changed the subject.

"The Ohlones' game? It went rather well. We were able to act completely undetected to set it up." Josh smiled. Everyone could tell he was proud of it.

"Yeah, Josh's first field mission was super successful! I mean, I was there, but he did most of the work."

"We'd have likely gotten caught if not for your expertise." Josh didn't want all of the credit.

"So modest." Sitara smiled. "Either way, mission accomplished. Can't let Blume forget who's watching now, can we?"

"Nope. We don't need another Dusan risin' up to take his place." Marcus shook his head as their breakfasts were brought to the table. 

Compared to the large platters everyone got, Wrench's little cereal bowl of cut fruit and walnuts accompanied by a blueberry mini-muffin was much smaller. The engineer was pleased and didn't give a care about what his friends thought, rubbing his hands together eagerly. In all honesty, he was surprised that he had a craving for it as well, but stranger things had happened. One by one, Wrench subtly pulled back the leather panel of his mask and ravenously polished off each cube and berry like he hadn't eaten in days.

"Got any other sporting events to harmlessly hijack?" Marcus asked, trying to pay attention to Josh and Sitara but finding himself distracted by the joy on Wrench's lips as he devoured a strawberry.

"That wouldn't be wise. They'll have extra security at the other local teams' venues." Josh spoke up as Marcus reached across the table. Wrench perked up at Marcus' approaching hand and blushed as his best friend motioned to his cheek.

"You, uh, got a little something..."

Wrench wiped his hand across his cheek and pulled it away to find a watermelon seed now stuck to his palm instead of his face.

"Uh, not quite all of it." Marcus swallowed and reached further, knocking a second seed from Wrench's chin. There was an unusual silence between the hackers, and the two of them didn't think anything of the exchange until Sitara starting grinning.

"Oh my god, you two, stop it. Just...fuck," She laughed at her own words. "Yeah! You two need to--."

Marcus was blushing like a fool and Wrench was flustered. Thankfully Josh saved the day again. "I'm finished. Where to now?"

\--- 

_"You said it was a liquid."_

_"Mmhmm."_

_"How did one of my best operatives get hit with it, then!?"_

_"It's a liquid in a spray bottle, so that also makes it a mist. It can be breathed in. Not my problem that you didn't give her a gas mask when she applied it."_

_"She has huge marks on her back and the medical community is in a tizzy."_

_"Again, it's out of my hands. You said you wanted it, I pulled strings, it became your problem. Anything that arises from it is your problem. You're one of the big guys, you could have covered it up."_

_"I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen!"_

_"I'd love to try to help, but I'm kind of tied up at the moment. It's for you to deal with. However, it's active now. That means you'll be able to flush him out soon. The end justifies the means, am I right?"_

\---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for lack of tags, I'll try to get them to update again because I don't think they did last time. In case there are future problems, I will post warnings in notes at the beginning of the chapter when certain elements are introduced. 
> 
> Thanks again for reading! I'm going to try for weekly updates if not sooner!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A change of plans.

"Lan, I'm really sorry, but I can't do anything right now." An apologetic male voice could be heard in the empty kitchen.

"What do you mean you can't do anything right now?" A woman in her forties grimmaced at her smart phone, turning down the volume before putting it back up to her ear. She had dyed auburn long hair tied back in a bun, and wore a men's cut tank top, the fabric draping conveniently down the center of two bandaged wounds that sat over her scapulae. She was stressed, staring at nothing with narrowed eyes. "You said there was a cure."

"There is, I'm not kidding you. We got in contact with the manufacturer. But we can't treat you just yet."

"Why not?" She growled.

"Lan, please. I didn't want this to happen. It was all an accident."

"Then fix it! Or I'll find someone to fix it."

"We will! In time! Just...no more of this...publicity. Too many hands in this is detrimental. Now the public knows about it."

"Some women like to go down to the beach during the summer and enjoy the sun! If I wear a swimsuit, everyone is going to stare. If I want to take a guy home or go home with one, he's going to stare. No, I'm stuck at home, itching and itching. I'm not going to take this quietly."

"They're giving you those injections, right? They should be helping!"

"Carlos, I'm not going to the hospital every other day, waiting for special clearance and signing papers just to get a shot in the arm. And how is this itchy rash going to flush out the kid?"

"It's a little more complicated than that. It won't itch forever. I called to let you know the hospital has a room for you when it gets worse--"

"What!? Worse!?" Lan's eyes widened. She wanted to strangle the man's neck. She knew she didn't deserve to go through the pain and suffering she was experiencing, but nobody cared.

"You see-"

"No, you see here. I'm going to find this kid. He wears that silly mask, right? You don't need some experimental bio-weapon bullshit to catch a criminal. I'll scour this city until I find him. So you can go and grab that treatment-"

"Like I said before, I'm really sorry, Ms. Kimura. I can't stop it yet. If I stop it, we lose our advantage. Please come back to the hospital, everything will be free of charge, and you'll be paid your salary-"

"I said I'm going to find this kid. And I will call you when I have him by the wrist." 

"You don't have a warrant."

"With all this shit you're pulling, I'm sure you can come up with one for me."

Lan was tempted to throw her phone after hanging up, but she instead squeezed it, cracking the hard plastic protective case surrounding it instead. "Flimsy piece of junk," she muttered as she grabbed a green apple from her kitchen counter and took a bite, opening up her work laptop and bringing up photographs from her last assignment. She flipped through a series of camera stills of a young man with a hooked nose and a port wine birthmark in a black hoodie. She didn't get what was so special about one hacker, but if it would mean getting back to a normal life quicker, she would take matters into her own hands.

 

\---

 

Breakfast ended, and Sitara decided to head to the hackerspace while Josh had some errands nearby to tend to, and would join up with her later. Marcus and Wrench had planned to drop by in the evening to grab the two for a night out, but they wanted to stop by the garage first to get some of Wrench's stuff. While he was grateful that Marcus was lending him his 'hipster' clothes, he felt more at home in his own threads.

"It's definitely because chickens descended from dinosaurs, which were much more dangerous. It's like a final 'fuck you' to them, shaping them like their more powerful ancestors."

"I think I'll stick to the idea that they're dinosaur shaped so kids'll eat them."

"Marcus, that's what they want you to think." Marcus couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear. He wasn't sure if Wrench was joking or being serious, but he enjoyed their conversations. "Food companies know. We have to stay on top of the food chain. Even our livestock are trying to overpower us! A pig's eaten a human before, man! That's ham! Bacon!"

"Dude I know you're on a fruits and veggies kick, but please don't ruin bacon for me."

"It's not a kick. That's a hipster thing, eating food because it's popular even if it tastes like shit. Fruit just sounded good." As Wrench ended, he shuddered in what Marcus assumed was held back frustration.

"You alright? We cool? It's cool, not a kick."

"Oh, I'm not mad. Just a little chill." Wrench gave it little thought.

"Cold?" Marcus' brow curled in confusion. "It's in the eighties right now."

Wrench shrugged, question marks flashing briefly.

"You're sure you ain't mad? I'm sorry if I hit a nerve there."

"You didn't. Marcus, it'll take a lot more than that to make me mad at you." Wrench smile made two carats appear. "If I can't handle that, there's something seriously wrong."

"Alright." Marcus looked ahead, worry starting to stir in his stomach, but he wouldn't address the issue again. He trusted that Wrench was okay, though he had feeling something was off as they continued along.

Wrench remained unusually quiet as they walked, which threw up more red flags to Marcus. The mask hid Wrench's actual face, but it was still on, and still emoting based on his facial expressions. Whenever Marcus got a step or two ahead of the other, he'd catch a glimpse of the visor. The greater and less than signs were the most prominent, with an occasional appearance of O's and pound signs. Wrench was trying to fight the sensations, but every nerve in his back sparked to life. Eventually the engineer stopped in his tracks on the sidewalk and desperately reached for his back. Marcus only took a few steps ahead of him before stepping backwards to see what was up.

Wrench squinted and breathed easier when Marcus began scratching. Both of them looked around cautiously before ducking into a small alley for a moment. Wrench let the weight of his body press against the wall, arms loose at his sides as Marcus carefully clawed his back.

"Fucking--" Wrench cursed just above a whisper.

"Back already?" Marcus asked in disbelief, receiving a nod from the other.

"You have anymore of those pills?" Wrench looked over his shoulder.

"Yeah. We're still close to the hackerspace, you wanna head there?"

"We'll get shit from Sitara, but yeah."

"Let's hurry, then. This is important."

"Wait, let me take them now."

"Without water?"

"What? I've done it with Jo--" he paused and sighed. "I can do it." Marcus uncapped the small white bottle and shook out two capsules, and Wrench swallowed them both without issue.

"Definitely straight to the hackerspace now." Marcus knew those little pills would knock Wrench out eventually, so the two of them took the fastest route by foot. Marcus was tempted to 'borrow' a bike or a car parked on the streets, but if the cops were around, Wrench would suffer more, even though driving would be faster.

After a couple more spur of the moment stops for Wrench's sanity, they reached Gary's Games and Glory, surprised to see cars parallel parked out front, and the little store very busy when they walked in. All of the tables were filled with both children and adults playing a card game. Posters and decor featuring monsters were displayed, and the store owner along with a woman sat at a registration table with large cardboard boxes behind them holding packs of unopened trading cards. There was a man in a blue polo with a little monster image embroidered on the right side of his chest with the words 'Game Guardian' walking around. He smiled at Marcus and Wrench when they entered the store, and held out two plastic wrapped trading cards from a stack in his hand to them. "Hello gentlemen! Are you here for the Battle Cryptids pre-release tournament? By the way, awesome mask!"

"Uhh, nooo, we, uh," Marcus fumbled with his words to start, taking the cards and pocketing them as Wrench took the opportunity to weave through the crowds to the back. Marcus made a quick recovery after a brief assessment of the situation, and his improvisational skills went to work. "We're stockers here, we handle the product in the back."

"Oh! You work here! Don't let me keep you! The promotional Chiropta cards are yours to keep. Please check out our game sometime, people of all ages love Battle Cryptids, from elementary school students to the young at heart!"

"You know what? I bet we will! Use our, uh, employee discount!" Marcus beamed, using his charm to weasel out of being forced to join. "Nice meetin' you." He said, pushing through the crowd to catch up with his friend. He found the other hacker leaning against the graffiti-covered wall, trying to take deep breaths which crackled through his voice modifier. Marcus provided him relief, scratching his back as he punched in the key code.

"Wow, that was half-assed and you still put your magic on that annoying sales guy." Wrench managed, finding a bit of sanity whenever Marcus tended to his back.

"You heard all that over the noise? Just want to get you down here and comfortable." The door slid open, and the two men slipped inside and carefully descended the stairs into the hackerspace.

As they figured, the artist lit up with curiosity when they entered the hackers' secret base. "Hey! That was fast." Sitara teased with a smug grin. "Or did you miss us already?"

"We miss you all the time, but there's a change in plans. Wrench needs a little break." Marcus led Wrench to the couch, and Wrench ripped off the t-shirt and tossed it unceremoniously behind him. 

"Heads up!" he announced, the shirt landing close to Sitara.

"Wrench! What the fuck?"

"That's my fucking line!" The engineer tried rubbing his back against the couch cushions while Marcus dug inside his messenger bag for the little bottle of ointment he brought with him.

"Hang on Wrench."

"I'm hanging! Goddamn...hrrggh. Why isn't this scratchy cushion scratchy when I need it to be!?"

Sitara circled Wrench from behind the couch, very confused and a little agitated at the lack of information. "Calm the fuck down, Marcus looks like he knows what he's doing...what are you doing? What exactly is going on?" She looked to Marcus, wanting to be filled in with more details.

"He's got an itch he can't scratch, to put it lightly. I don't know why, I don't know what it is, but I'll fix it in a second."

"Itchy?" It wasn't enough of an answer to satisfy her. She stepped behind the couch and put her hands on Wrench's shoulders, pushing him forward.

"No no no no-"

"Wrench, chill." Sitara scolded softly. "...What the fuck..."

"I know, right? Nothin' there. No explanation." Marcus said, finally pulling out the lotion.

"Oh, there's something here." Sitara let go of Wrench and stepped backwards.

"I know how to fix it, just let me--" Marcus' frustration faded, and there was worry in his gaze as he looked over Wrench's back.

"Hurry, put it on, I'm going fucking bonkers!" Wrench went back to trying to scratch with the couch cushions, but that didn't hide the marks at all.

"Shit. Shit...this ain't real." Marcus shook his head, squirting the ointment into his palm and rubbing it in a distinct shape on Wrench's back. He half hoped the discoloration that appeared on the man's back would disappear when he applied it, but it remained. It looked painful. It looked uncomfortable. It looked abnormal, and it was horrifically familiar.

It looked like the police corporal's bruises from the WKZ news story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the update, and my apologies that it's a bit late!
> 
> Thank you again for reading, and let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

Watching Wrench get drowsy from the allergy pills was like watching one of those grinding and screeching wind up plastic toys spazz out or race across the floor, then gradually fall into a state of slow motion until rest and drop to its side. Wrench definitely spazzed for a bit from the need to scratch, and he fell to the ground when sleep hit him, falling sideways from his chair and onto the floor.

Sitara jumped from her seat when he hit the ground with a thud followed by peaceful sounds of slumber amplified by the mask, which displayed two hyphens. "Wrench!" She shrieked, but it wasn't enough to rouse him. The floor was nice and cool, so he didn't move from his spot until Marcus and Sitara grabbed his upper body and legs to carry him to the couch near the lockers and vending machines. 

Wrench curled on his side, back facing the lockers as Marcus wrestled his tennis shoes off of his feet. "Trust me, I don't think it was nearly this dramatic this morning."

"Wrench likes to put on a show. But I didn't expect him to be so susceptible to over the counter drugs." Sitara tossed the bottle of ointment up in the air a few times, catching it with one hand.

"Surprised me too, considering some of our, uh, recreational activities...wait, no, it's not surprising." A memory of Swelter Skelter reminded him that things hit him pretty hard. Marcus' lips curled and fell in a second, debating how much of Wrench to cover up with a well loved crocheted blanket that he had found stuffed into a locker. Judging by the color scheme and fading, it had seen a few decades of love before the DedSec crew obtained it.

"We've got to do something. I don't like being down a man. Especially when I don't know what's going on." Sitara grew serious again, not sure where to begin after seeking calm in the chaos. The immediate panic had faded along with Wrench's consciousness, which was a blessing. The blonde acted out even more hysterically than the night before, almost ingraining his back with a series of wooden splinters and fresh cuts had Marcus not been able to overpower him. 

"Whatcha gotta do?" Ray asked, shuffling down the stairs with two cases of beer and a laptop tucked under his arm.

"We gotta play doctor." Marcus knelt down beside Wrench to look at the marks again.

"One problem there, we ain't doctors." Ray placed his things on the table and stood beside Marcus, his eyes wide when he saw the problem. "Shit son, that's what that chick on the news had, right? We really ain't doctors, kid."

"What do I do? Even if Wrench has a doctor he trusts, he's gonna make front page of the news when they see he's got the same shit that cop does."

"-We- figure out another way." Ray handed a beer to Marcus and Sitara, then took one for himself. "You're the one always sayin' DedSec's a team, right?"

"Right." Marcus smiled softly as Sitara gently patted his shoulder.

"Let's put our heads together. What do we know so far?"

"Very little. They didn't even disclose her name. They had a brief, blurry view of her face. Marcus said it looked familiar. Josh scanned it, but for some reason her ctOS profile didn't come up, and it usually does for a simple police officer."

"Sounds like there might be more to her, or they pulled her off the grid recently to prevent people from getting more information."

Wrench interrupted the conversation, a frustrated grunt escaping his lip as his form jerked. His tattooed arm flew back and tried to itch again. Sitara wandered over to him while Marcus and Ray sat in thought.

"What about WKZ?" Josh looked between the two men after turning in his computer chair.

"...That's right. You gotta sign a consent form to be plastered on the news like that, right? Well, unless you're a criminal."

"Good thinkin', kid." Ray pointed his beer bottle at Josh.

Marcus got up from his chair and walked towards Wrench. He pulled out the translucent blue gel from his bag, and started working it into the dormant hacker's back. Sitara took some and helped as well. The sensation of two sets of hand massaging his back with cooling medicine took the edge off, and Wrench's mask displayed two content hyphens as he relaxed again.

Marcus wiped his hands off, staring at his best friend thoughtfully. "I'm gonna go see if I can find some other stuff to try and help."

Sitara matched Marcus' gaze, then looked to him.

"...should I take his mask off? I mean, it can't be that comfortable to sleep in, and-"

"I'll keep his face covered." Sitara grabbed the t-shirt, glancing back at Marcus with a grin. "I swear." She patted Marcus' back.

"While you're gone, I'll try to get back into WKZ."

"If you can't, I'll make a stop there and get you in again. Keep me posted."

\---

With a sigh, Lan held her smart phone to the front doors of FBI headquarters, Braham's lullaby chiming over static into the receiver beside the door frame. The electronic lock spat back the end of the tune, and the doors slid open rapidly. Her job -- her real job -- was all about jumping through hoops, even with the most mundane of things. They closed tightly just as fast once she was through, and the familiar sights and scents...sights and sounds, but the building did seem to have a very distinct scent when she walked through the door...of the building gave her a small comfort. It was just like coming in for a day of paperwork, only later in the day. The lobby was the most relaxed area of the facility. Most of the time. A member of DedSec had infiltrated these very halls, and for the first time in awhile, FBI swarmed the building with guns at the ready.

She was greeted by a very surprised receptionist wearing a conservative shirt and skirt with her black hair in a bob, who smiled widely upon laying eyes on Lan. "Lan! Are you back to work already? How are you feeling?"

The corporal rested her hands and forearms on the counter, toying with a pen attached to a beaded chain. "Unfortunately not. I wanted to speak to Carlos." She insisted, hoping to get the encounter with her superior over with.

"Carlos isn't in right now. He actually won't be until that mess with Blume is cleared up." Her regret was genuine, and she wasn't just putting on a polite tone for the other woman.

"Still?" Not the answer Lan wanted. She swore by the time this was over, she could blame the man for all the wrinkles on her face from all the frowning and sneering she had done. "Why him? It's not like he had ties to Nemec."

"I'm not sure, I don't have a lot of clearance to know what it is all of you do. I mean, to me, you're a police officer, a civil servant. But I know it's more than that. I know you have very special and sensitive responsibilities."

"Sometimes they don't seem that way. I appreciate your honesty, though."

"...Is it bad?" The receptionist lowered her voice and tried to calmly change the subject, but it was another subject the officer wasn't thrilled in discussing.

"I'm tolerating it."

"...So it's bad?"

"I just have to find some scrappy hacker kid. Then I can put all of this behind me." Lan sighed and reached for her back, trying to scratch. Every time she thought about the masked hacker, she seemed to feel the urge to itch.

"Oh. I know a good remedy you can pick up at the drug store. My mother suggested it when my daughter had chicken pox, and it was pretty effective."

"Really? I stopped going in for the shots."

"But why? They work, don't they?"

"It's a hassle. And besides, over the counter stuff works...for the most part. I'd just like a little extra and I can take whatever comes at me. And again, I find the kid, they fix me for good."

"If anyone can catch him, you can."

Lan felt a bit more confident in herself with the encouragement. Her friend was right; she was a high ranking police officer and soon to be promoted FBI officer when she got the masked hacker behind bars. There would be the added challenge of the public being somewhat more familiar with her before, but she would deal with it. She stretched out her arms, then sighed, staring down at the floor, then back at her friend. "If you see him--"

"I'll call you. Go take it easy."

"I will as soon as I hit the pharmacy."

"Oh, right. You should pick up a package of that oatmeal bath. It does wonders for itchy skin. My mother dumped up in it when we had the chicken pox, and she said it really helped. I think they even put it in lotion now if you don't want to hassle with a bath."

"I'll try anything. Carlos said they had a hospital room waiting for me. For bruises. How ridiculous is that?"

"That is pretty strange. Now go on, get out of here! You know I'd be taking it easy if I wasn't working today."

Lan leaned over the desk and hugged her companion, then started out the door.

\---

"You got in pretty damn fast." Marcus complimented Josh over the channel from the local pharmacy, a plastic shopping basket carried at his side filled with every anti-allergy and anti-itch remedy he could purchase over the counter. It was his intention to try everything that they could before he even suggested sending him to a professional.

"Due to carelessness on their part. I was curious to see what they did with their servers and what we'd have to work around. But they haven't bothered with updating their security measures yet. We don't have to get in close proximity to access their servers at the moment." Josh explained, fingers rapping against his mechanical keyboard as lines of text and file folders filled his screen. "I also discovered that they keep everything in a private cloud as well, so even if they kill their connection, I can still get what we need."

"You da man, Josh. Hey, how's Wrench doing?"

"The knucklenoodle is still asleep." Sitara chimed in. "You were right, though. When he crashes, he crashes."

"I've got ointments, lotions, one of every extra-strength allergy pill..."

"Oatmeal." Ray made his presence known.

"Oatmeal?" Marcus furrowed his brow at Ray's suggestion.

"Yup. Oatmeal bath."

"We don't have a bath tub." Josh informed.

"Let's get a giant kiddie pool." Sitara teased. "We'll throw Wrench into a kiddie pool of oatmeal."

"We don't have running water down here. Or a stove."

"I know. Let us indulge, Josh."

"I have a bathtub." Marcus offered.

"But it's not as fun as a kiddie pool."

"Of course not. But it's an option. Party at my place." Marcus decided to head to the hygiene products again to look for an oatmeal mixture as they brainstormed.

"Stuffing ourselves into your bathroom might not be fun either."

"These marks are really fucked up looking. And they're too symmetrical." Ray brought the focus back to the problem at hand, allowing Josh to return his efforts to searching the cloud. "What fucked up thing could Wrench have gotten into that this cop did as well?"

"I don't know, but-" Marcus reached for a box of oatmeal bath, bumping a woman's hand with the same intent. Startled, they both matched glances and retracted. There was an awkward pause as they stared at one another, a strange sense of familiarity between them. Marcus tried to hold back surprise while the woman fought confusion. Marcus struck her as someone she'd encountered before as well. 

"Marcus?" Sitara asked over the line, pulling him back to his senses. 

Marcus gestured to the woman awkwardly, letting her take a box. "Ladies first."

"Thank you." She replied calmly, slightly amused at how she caught him off guard above all things. The woman had reddish brown hair pulled back, and beneath her white tank top, Marcus could see that her upper body had been wrapped in bandages. She also wore shorts with a small SFPD logo embroidered on the leg. 

At the same time, she looked straight at his chest and spotted the Dedsec logo across the front of his shirt. African-American male and maskless. Not Caucasian, tattooed and masked. DedSec was a hacker group, but they had millions of followers. It was getting to be the case where wearing a DedSec t-shirt was like wearing a sports team's t-shirt. Fans. But why had this young man stuck out? Despite Dusan's attempt to broadcast Marcus all over town, she hadn't particularly paid attention then...nothing came to mind aside from deja vu. And even if she did, Marcus was in the clear for now.

Marcus said nothing in his silence, and when the woman walked away, Marcus took his own and stood up, watching her make a beeline for the register.

"Marcus? Is everything okay?"

It took a second, much louder 'MARCUS!' in his ear for him to snap out of it.

"Present!" Marcus' eyes darted in all directions before returning to the officer, who'd paid for her items and was leaving the store with a white plastic shopping bag in tow.

"Good, thought maybe something was fucking with the signal."

"Nah, you're good. I think I'm done here."

"I think Josh is too, he's looking pretty pleased."

"We'll be waiting, Marcus." Josh ended the call.

"That's what I like to hear." Marcus said to himself, walking towards the cash register, grabbing a green, plastic back scratcher on the way. 

He returned to the hackerspace without incident, though his encounter with the woman stuck with him. "She's probably getting funny looks from everyone now. At least she was pretty cool about it. I didn't make too much of an ass of myself."

When he returned, the hackerspace was quiet, and Wrench was right where he'd left him, curled on his side upon the couch by the lockers and arcade cabinets. Sitara had cleaned up his bruises again and left them to air dry, in wait of the treatments Marcus was returning with. His face was buried in Marcus' Plainstock shirt from earlier that afternoon. Marcus lightly kicked Wrench's discarded Converses beside the couch and set the bag on the floor before joining Josh at his workstation. "Everyone ditch you?"  
"Sitara went to pick up pizzas. Ray is getting more beer."

"Nice. Guess it is getting kind of late."

"Look at this." Josh pointed to the center screen.

"Are you serious? They haven't put in new security measures?" Marcus peered from behind Josh's chair, placing a cold can of Josh's favorite soda on top of a folded napkin that looked to have served as a coaster not too long ago.

"Not a smart move on their part."

"It's been a while since we got into them last. Pretty sad."

"And stupid. And irresponsible. But I bet after what happened with Dusan, they might be eyeing other companies to work with. Blume has competition in the market, but until now it was clear they had all the big names as little brothers."

"So we don't have to go there for now."

"Probably not at all. I found our policewoman." Josh opened the consent form and a headshot of the woman. "Her name is Lan Kimura."

"Lan Kimura." Marcus said the name aloud as well, wondering if it rang any bells. Unfortunately, it did not.

"There isn't much here that I found useful, so I ran her name through the hospital records." Josh closed one window and opened another, containing a patient record. "Again, not a challenge to get in after breaking down the ransomware."

"It's going to take them some time to boost their security too. It's better in the long run that Blume doesn't stand above as the best choice. This is so pathetic."

"We can't hold their hands the entire time, but we'll step in if someone else tries to screw them over in a similar way."  
"That's right. So what did you find about her?"

"Same marks as Wrench's, but we knew that. It's being called 'unknown dermatitis'. They don't have a lot of accessible information or notes on it, but they have a treatment arranged."

Marcus eyed the physician's instructions. "She has to sign a form that says she came in for a dose, and it looks like she missed a couple days."

"That's unusual. Why wouldn't she go in for her treatment?"

"Maybe it ain't working well?"

"There's a note here that says they're going to dispose of any unused syringes in the next 24 hours."

"What?" Marcus frowned, looking over his shoulder at Wrench. "You're serious?"

"Yes I'm serious."

Marcus wished he could just whisk Wrench off to the hospital like a normal person and get him started on his own series of treatment proper. But again, being Dedsec complicated things. They hadn't directly started helping the hospitals; after the debut of their video, the owners of the medical facilities all over the Bay Area did not want to bargain with them. Their allies played middleman with the fixes.

"Then we need to take them off their hands."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for taking so long to update! I hope this chapter will make up for it. It's been rewritten a lot, so please let me know if something seems off.


	6. Chapter 6

Ray slugged two cases of beer onto the table, one full of cans and the other a set of bottles containing a local craft brew that he hoped to keep for himself. Pizza and Chinese takeout sat out alongside the remnants of a donut box from 10 Donuts. "Stuff your face and get out there, basically. Tonight's the only time you've got to do it."

Wrench returned to the land of the living after the sound of glass bottles and cans hit the work area, a groan muffled against the pillow and his wadded-up t-shirt. Marcus was quick to stand guard and make sure Josh, Sitara and Ray didn't catch something Wrench didn't want them to see, holding out the electronic mask when Wrench's half-lidded eyes and drool-covered lips revealed themselves.

"Morning Rip van Winkle."

"Fuck, don't tell me we're on ctOS 10, not until I've had my coffee." Wrench still managed to joke around being half awake, pressing his mask to his face and strapping it back around his head.

"No coffee, kid. We got beer." Ray called from the other side of the room.

"Beer is always an acceptable substitute. Maybe I can drink so much I won't...itch..." Wrench started clawing at his back.

"Shit man, we didn't get much out of that dose this time around."

"I know, right?" Wrench squirmed until Marcus held out his recent purchase. Wrench displayed happy semicolon tears in his digitized eyes and gratefully scratched his own back, though when the teeth hit his bruises, he winced. "Shit! Shit, I struck a mine."

"Careful, there's something there now."

"What the fuck is happening to me?"

"You got the same shit that lady on tv has."

"Man, fuck her. I don't even fucking know her." Wrench's mask flashed forward and backward slashes in frustration, being a bit more gentle with the back scratcher. "Wait, I know, we get an iron maiden, sand down the barbs a bit--"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Marcus stepped forward when Wrench started to get up. "I want to cure you, but let's not get carried away."

"Oh, Marcus, you don't know how bad this itches. It feels like there are creepy little fingers underneath my skin wanting to bust out."

"It just feels that way, I know."

"Marcus bought you half the pharmacy's allergy medication selection, so we'll try things out and see if anything helps."

"And while you do that, I'm gonna take a trip to the hospital."

"The hospital?"

Josh turned in his chair. "We researched the officer's identity. Long story short, she isn't taking the medication they prescribed for her."

"So I'm gonna take it and use it on someone willing to accept the help."

"Me!" Wrench delighted. "Geez guys, you're the best...nngh..." Wrench's delight was once again stopped by the recurring itch.

Marcus quickly polished off one of several protein bars, then stuffed the rest into his messenger bag.

"Mmm, apple cinnamon." Wrench's nose perked up, despite his discomfort.

"Haha, yeah, granola bar. Guess I ate it so fast I didn't smell it."

"Can I have one?" Question marks appeared.

"We have pizza..."

"Nah, not feeling it right now."

Marcus smiled, pulling a bar out of his bag and tossing it over. Wrench hungrily polished off the treat after hastily unwrapping it.

Sitara rustled through the pharmacy bag, reading the directions on a bottle of ointment. "You better get going Marcus. Josh and Ray have your back. I'll see what I can do with the meds you got."

"Alright. Hang in there, everybody."

"Doing...ugh...what I can...ohhhh." Wrench made a sound similar to a purr when Sitara tried out the ointment on the right side of his back.

\---

"This is kickass." Lenni Kastner's eyes lit up with fascination as a lean, dark woman twirled around in front of her. "Are you feeling it?"

"I am so feeling it." The woman responded wistfully. Both ladies were in the back of a diner located in the suburbs some time after sunset, the unconscious form of what looked to be the manager sprawled out on the floor with his arms and legs tied up behind him. His uniform was also in tatters, and bloody wounds were painted on his skin. "Check this." The girl pulled back the collar of her pink Prime_Eight t-shirt, a ruffle of fine, silky black hair growing from her neck. It looked more like a mane and not a beard, as the growth stopped at the bottom of her chin. "Everyday is something new."

"This is fucking sweet. But dear god, you must be high as a kite right now. I'm surprised we're even able to hold a fucking conversation." Lenni chuckled as the woman took a seat with her at the bar.

"I don't feel shit anymore. No itch, no pain."

"See what happens with a little willpower and some decent pain killers? Growing is never painless...I love it. This is the far future right now." Lenni held up her cell phone to steal some progress photos. "Smile for me, babe." As the girl's lips pulled back to reveal long, pointy incisors that caught the light, Lenni smiled too. Lately, she had obtained a ton of 'goodies', as she referred to them, from Rensense. Being junkies for nanotech and body mods, she had several dozen willing volunteers looking to try them out, regardless of the outcome. The fifth vial she got her hands on was wilder than any of the others she obtained. "Yeeeeaahhh, this is good stuff."

"You gonna give it a shot too?"

"In time. Not a fan of the hair." Lenni got off her bar stool and walked behind the girl, pressing her fashion poncho against two lanky limbs that stretched out when the hacker's hands rested at the woman's shoulders. "Very much a fan of these." Lenni slapped her hands down on the girls shoulders, then pulled away and walked back to her seat to take a smoke. "Speaking of which, you're not gonna be alone in this. Looks like some unlucky bitch got a sample of this one too. Don't care how, but that might put a damper on getting more in the future."

"I saw that and I hope it fucking kills her."

"Chill sweetie. It probably won't, seeing as how she's got 'medical experts'. But I," Lenni pointed her vaping pen at her. "want you to drop by Rensense and have a little look around. Plus, we have that one vial that doesn't seem to do anything, and I like to be sure of what we have. If you find trouble,"

"La Chupracabra gonna kill some bitches."

"...We gotta work on a better name for you, I can't take that one seriously."

"I let you use it on me, I'll call myself whatever I want."

"You volunteered. Whatever, just get shit done."

\---

"Marcus, man. I will be Sleeping Beauty forever. This shit that you bought is fine." Wrench pleaded over the channel as Marcus sped down the streets of San Francisco on a motorcycle.

"It ain't nothing big, Wrench. This medicine can probably help you."

"They'll have to discard it eventually, and they can make more." Josh added.

"It's not that!"

"Then what is it?" Marcus could picture Sitara lowering her eyes at him.

"It's...it's personal!" Wrench sputtered.

"Dude, it's a shot and it works for two whole days!" Marcus smiled, in disbelief at Wrench's attitude. "What do you have against a-"

"Wrench, do not give me that bullshit. You have so many fucking tattoos all over you, you can't possibly be afraid of needles." Sitara joined in. The three of them hung back at the hackerspace, mostly to keep an eye on Wrench at Marcus' request, but also to make sure Marcus was properly supported as well.

"It's not the needles I'm afraid of!" Wrench groaned.

"Then you'll be fine!"

"M, side effects, man."

"Every medicine has side effects."

"I know, and I can take the sleepiness. But who knows what these do if I don't agree with'em."

"So you get a fever or the sniffles. Maybe a sore throat. It's nothing we can't handle."

"What if it's something worse, like zombification!?"

Josh cleared his throat, ready to read through the paragraph before him on his computer screen. "Common side effects include dizziness, nausea, low grade fever, loss of appetite, fatigue, and dia--"

"The usual things, basically."

"I dunno..."

"Honestly, who would make medicine that purposely does more harm than good?" Sitara asked. "People won't buy it at all if it's harmful."

"It's worth a try. This could make things a whole lot easier on you until we get answers."

"Marcus, if you ever get strange, itchy, gross-looking welts on your back, rest assured I will seek out a cure for you." Wrench announced.

"I appreciate that, friend."

"And if you should ever contract the zombie virus-"

"Hey Marcus, which one of those allergy pills makes you drowsy? I think Wrench could use another nap."

Marcus cackled. "Hang in there y'all. I'm almost there. Gonna take a little trip to the pharmacy and pick up Wrench's prescription. Maybe a flowery get well soon card to go with it."

Marcus put on his music and pulled out his laptop after settling in a secluded corner of the hospital grounds near an open vent. A large, fenced generator stood between him and being visible to the patrolling Umeni Security cars circling the C-shaped building. Their presence dropped a big hint that they were aware something important was here, and it was probably the same thing he was looking for.

After opening the grate to the ventilation system, Marcus pulled out the RC jumper from his bag and set it up, ensuring that the storage compartment was empty to hold the medication. It was big enough to hold Wrench's mask, so it had to be plenty big for medication. He ran his fingertips around the compartment to wipe away some powdery dust inside, then clicked the case shut.

"I'm sending you a copy of the ventilation system to overlay on the hospital map."

"Thanks Josh. I appreciate anything that will make this go as smoothly as possible. Best case scenario, I don't have to set foot inside the building, right?"

"A high possibility." Josh agreed.

"I wonder if any procedures are being done right now." Wrench's mood improved. He was more than okay getting into other people's business, especially concerning operations and scoping procedures. "We could spy on a surgery!"

"Only emergency operations would be performed this late."

"It's pretty calm in here." Marcus commented. "Probably more action near the Emergency Room, and I want to avoid that."

"The pharmacy won't be open to the public right now, but it will still be accessible to the staff."

Marcus angled the jumper's camera to peer through another grate at the pharmacy below him. There were several tall and impeccably white shelves in the storage room, all chock full of bottles, boxes, tubes and bags. An elderly man in a white labcoat and scrubs shuffled around with a clipboard in his arm, appearing to be performing inventory on his stock. A nurse was at the front counter, leaning against it while flirting and chatting with an orderly.

"It's too quiet, they're gonna hear the jumper."

"Let me see." Josh remotely connected to the hospital's main systems through Marcus. "I don't know how long this will last, but here goes."

Nineties pop music began blasting out of the speakers, jarring the wizened pharmacist so badly that he dropped his clipboard, sending all of his papers onto the floor. He yelled angrily for the nurse to come assist him, while the orderly ran off to inform maintenance about the loud music replacing the barely audible elevator piano tunes.

Marcus acted quickly, the little remote controlled vehicle dropping down on top of a shelf and rolling off the side towards the back of the room. With careful weaving, the little car came to an abrupt stop, backed up slightly and extended its arm, plugging into the circuit box and unlocking the refrigerated room. Just as the pharmacist was getting his act together, the little jumper disappeared inside the door, the metal thunk also lost in the noise.

"I'm in." Marcus took a quick run around the room. The storage here was predominantly stainless steel, and most everything was wrapped in plastic or put in plastic bags, making it a little hard to read due to the chill causing some packaging to fog up or frost on the outside. "I don't know what I'm looking for." Marcus stopped the jumper and began hopping from camera feed to camera feed, trying to see if he could spot the medication. "Damn, this is going to be tough." Marcus went back to his jumper controls.

Or at least, he tried to.

"Shit."

"What's wrong?" SItara asked.

"My Jumper ain't moving." Marcus typed furiously, trying to figure out what was wrong with his device. "It's stuck." The camera still worked, but the little car was smack dab in the middle of the room, squeaking and buzzing softly when Marcus tried to control it.

"You can't leave that in there..." Josh voiced concerned. "Even if they don't see it tonight, somebody will in the morning."

Marcus sighed, closing his laptop and climbing to his feet, brushing the blades of grass off of his backside. "...Looks like I'm going in."

**Author's Note:**

> Long time no see, AO3! This is an attempt at a long fic. I will be adding tags as I go because I want to try and make some things a surprise. There will be sad things but hopefully there will be enough fluff to balance it out. 
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


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